1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable terminal, such as a mobile communication terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), an electronic diary, and a portable multimedia player, and more particularly, to a charging device for such a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition to a communication function, such as a voice call or a short message transmission, portable terminals support a multimedia function, such as music or a moving image reproduction, an electronic diary function, such as daily schedule management, or a dictionary, and the like. Recently, with the increased development of information, communication, and semiconductor technologies, the use of portable terminals having various advanced functions is rapidly increasing. For example, recent portable terminals additionally support a business function, such as documentation or a presentation, and its functions are extended to various fields from an entertainment function, such as a game, to a sharing function, such as a Social Network Service (SNS).
Since such portable terminals need to be capable of functioning while in motion, they are provided with a chargeable battery pack for supplying power. It is inevitable for a user to periodically charge the battery pack, and in order to use the portable terminal even during long distance travel or business trip, the user needs to carry a separate charging device for charging the battery pack.
As the use of portable terminals is popularized worldwide, portable terminals may have specifications which are different from country to country, from manufacturer to manufacturer, and from one telecommunication company to another. As a result, efforts are being made for standardizing some components, such as charging terminals, that are essentially required for portable terminals. This can provide advantages in that users' convenience can be improved by allowing the users to charge their portable terminals everywhere, and manufacturers can save manufacturing costs as charging devices become commonly used.
There are some difficulties in commonly using charging devices since power supply methods, more particularly, receptacle-plug standards, are different from country to country or from city to city.
Therefore, a need exists for a charging device which can obviate the inconvenience of charging caused due to power supply methods which are different from country to country or from city to city by providing a charging cradle and a multi-plug in a separable type.